Houston shooting victim calls 911 from inside car

WARNER ROBINS -- Gaurang Patel said he was working at the Chevron gas station at 3501 N. U.S. 41 late Monday afternoon when his co-manager got a call from Houston County 911 about a black, four-door 2004 Lincoln Towncar.

The 911 operator wanted to know if the car was in the gas station parking lot, Patel said. The driver had just called 911 to report he’d been shot.

Harold Chkon Ross, 34, of Warner Robins, had been shot once in the chest, said Tabitha Pugh, public information officer for Warner Robins police.

Ross, who underwent surgery at The Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon late Monday, was in stable condition Tuesday, Pugh said.

Never miss a local story.

Sign up today for unlimited digital access to our website, apps, the digital newspaper and more.

Ross was not shot in the parking lot but drove himself northbound on U.S. 41 and pulled into the gas station to call for help, Pugh said.

While sitting in the driver’s seat, Ross was shot with a handgun, Pugh said. The bullet penetrated the driver’s side door from the outside and struck him in the left chest area.

The location of the shooting was not known Tuesday. Authorities canvassed the neighborhood behind Eagle Springs Elementary School late Monday and continued to look for the crime scene Tuesday, Pugh said.

“It makes it a little harder,” Pugh said of investigating a shooting without a crime scene. She said the victim’s car was being processed by police for clues.

Sheldon Dennis Maraj Jr., 21, who lives in the subdivision behind the school, was arrested Monday night on charges of felony possession of cocaine and misdemeanor possession of marijuana after he was questioned by police, Pugh said.

Maraj was sought out because he may have had information about the shooting, but his arrest was not related to the shooting, Pugh said. Maraj had the illegal drugs on him when questioned by officers, which led to his arrest, Pugh said.

Pugh declined to elaborate on what type of information Maraj may have had.

Patel, from the gas station, said a Houston County sheriff’s deputy was on the scene within minutes of the 911 call, followed by several Warner Robins police officers, an ambulance and fire truck. He said the victim was able to talk with police before he was whisked away in the ambulance.

“We are safe here,” Patel said. He noted there had been no similar crime-related incidents in the area since the gas station opened two years ago. The station is located near the intersection of U.S. 41 and Gunn Road.

Anyone who may have information related to the shooting is asked to call Warner Robins police detective Shane Mann at (478) 929-6911.